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Behaviour/development

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7/8 year olds - what is 'normal'?

2 replies

AnnonymousMum · 06/04/2024 12:17

I have a 7 (nearly 8) year old, and I know that, as she'd be the first to tell me, noone is 'normal', however - she is awaiting an autism assessment, reads way above her age and has strengths and needs that fall outside of the typical.. so I forget what is typical if that makes sense!?

I just wanted to get an idea of where her peers might be before we have the assessment, so I'm not missing out something that warrants a mention.

We are thinking about applying for DLA too but it really isn't clear what a typical child needs help with at her age. For example, she currently dresses herself but really struggles with choosing clothes if it's anything outside of her routine. E.g. she can get dressed into school uniform with no help or even prompt but if we went to the library she will often cry and repeat "I don't know what to wear" over and over but reject our suggestions. Then she'll sort almost all her clothes into "maybe" and "no" piles and then make outfits out of the maybe pile and rate them. It makes getting out the house a bit of a challenge!

Any experience is welcome!

OP posts:
CadyEastman · 07/04/2024 08:40

Both of mine are ND so no help from here I'm afraid Flowers

NewUser1111 · 07/04/2024 16:49

Hello OP. I have a nearly 7yo and she’s been happily dressing herself at the weekends and on holidays for a while now.
I would LOVE it if she showed the same zeal to get her school uniform on as your daughter though!
I’d say the deliberations over dressing could be worth a mention.

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